Gov’t exploring additional IMF funding – Ato Forson

Ghana’s new government could seek extra funding from the International Monetary Fund during its current three-year program with the lender in order to cushion the economy, finance minister designate Cassiel Ato Forson said on Thursday.

President John Dramani Mahama, who was sworn into office this week after beating the ruling party candidate in December’s election, picked the former minority leader in parliament to serve in the key post of finance minister.

“We are committed to working with the IMF, but we also want to ensure that we can raise financing; additional financing, working with the IMF and other domestic and international partners,” Forson told reporters ahead of a meeting with an IMF team that is currently visiting Accra.

“The reliance on Treasury bills and others has not been very helpful,” said Forson, who also served as a deputy finance minister before.

The IMF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Forson, a 46-year-old chartered accountant who holds a master’s degree in taxation from Oxford and a doctorate in finance from a local university, said the new administration would also cut public spending to help lower inflation further.

“There is a lot of wastage in the system, and we will cut them,” he said, adding that the move will also help the government to restart domestic bond issuance by mid-year.

The West African gold and cocoa producer defaulted on most of its external debt in 2022, leading to a painful restructuring that is at its tail end.

Mahama’s government would conclude the process by striking a deal with its non-Eurobond commercial creditors, Forson said.

Revisiting the IMF Deal

The new president, who previously occupied the office in 2012-17, had pledged to renegotiate the terms of Ghana’s bailout deal with the IMF during the campaign.

But market participants have taken the view he had limited room for manoeuvre and was unlikely to abandon the current IMF program in spite of that campaign rhetoric.

His promise mirrored those of other reformist candidates elected into office in emerging markets last year, including Sri Lanka’s Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who rode on a promise of reconsidering the terms of an IMF program and debt restructuring.

Mahama has pledged to swiftly assemble a government able to rapidly address growing discontent by boosting the economy and creating jobs.

He also picked John Abdulai Jinapor to serve as energy minister and Dominic Akuritinga Ayine to the post of attorney general and justice minister, the presidency said on Thursday.

The new government has inherited an economy emerging from its worst crisis in a generation.
Ministerial nominees have to be approved by Parliament, where Mahama’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) party holds a two-thirds majority.

Forson pledged to overhaul the management of the crucial cocoa sector, which has been facing challenges in recent years.

“We need to look at the issues of funding, diseased crops, and production very well. The whole sector needs an overhaul,” he said.

Forson was charged in connection with the loss of public funds through an ambulance supply deal when he was deputy finance minister, before being acquitted by the courts.

Source: Reuters